Dr. Teijani Samawi says: when I was still Sunnite and a newcomer to Najaf, I was introduced by my friend to the presence of Ayatollah al-Ozma Seyyed Abol-Ghasem Khou’ey.

My friend whispered something to Ayatollah, and then pointed at me to sit by him. I sat beside Ayatollah.

My friend insisted that I tell them the idea of myself and Tunisian people about Shiite….

I said: for us, Shiites are worse than Jews and Christians;

Because Jews and Christians worship God and have faith in Moses and Jesus, but as we know, Shiites worship Ali, pray to him and deify him.

And among Shiite, there is a group who worship God but they raise Ali’s status as high as Prophet’s (Pbuh) and say: angel Gabriel was supposed to reveal Quran for Ali, but he betrayed Ali and revealed it for the Prophet (Pbuh)! And they claim that Gabriel betrayed!!!

Ayatollah Khou’ey looked down for a while and then said:

We testify that there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet (Pbuh). Salutations on him and his pure descendents; And we testify that Ali (Pbuh) is one of the servants of God.”

Then he looked at the attendees and said while referring at me:

“Look at this poor people, at how they are deceived by rumors and false accusations. However, it is not strange;

Muhammad is God’s messenger and those who are with him, are strict and harsh to disbelievers. [9]

«مَّا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَا أَحَدٍ مِّن رِّجَالِكُمْ وَلَكِن رَّسُولَ اللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ؛Muhammad was not the father of any of you, but he was God’s messenger and the last of prophets.

Have you read these verses?

I said: yes, I know them.

He said: so where is Ali in these verses? You can see that it is all about the prophecy of Muhammad (Pbuh) not Ali, and you and I from both groups, have faith in Quran.

So how you accuse us to raise Ali (Pbuh) to the position of Prophet (Pbuh)?

I had no answer and kept silent.

Then he continued: about Gabriel’s betrayal (you accuse us of saying Gabriel betrayed!) this accusation is heavier than the first one.

When Gabriel came down on Prophet (Pbuh) at the first days of Be’that, Ali (Pbuh) was less than 10 years old, so how Gabriel would make a mistake or didn’t differentiate between them?

I kept silent.

In my mind I found his words reasonable.

He continued: I’m also telling you that Shiism is the only group among Muslim sects who believes in the infallibility of Prophets and Imams (Pbut), and definitely is Gabriel, since he is “Rouh al-Amin” and infallible.

I said: so where this rumors came from?

He said: this are accusations which are made up to make division among Muslims, thanks to God you are a wise man and can see through this issues, now circulate among Shiite and watch our school closely, and judge yourself if we have such beliefs?!

When I was in Najaf Ashraf, I realized many things and understood the unfair accusations made up for Shiite…